Are propane tank "trade ins" worth it?
JohnDouglas
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
You see them nearly everywhere: Propane cylinder trade-in kiosks. Bring in your empty and trade it in for a refreshed, full one. Often with 24-hour service it may be tempting to trade-in rather than fill up. But are they really a bargain?
On a visit to a Flying J truck stop we found bulk propane for $2.75 per pumped gallon. The same truck stop offered Amerigas exchange cylinders for $21.99. A quick nod at your calculator says you're paying $1.64 more per gallon for the exchange, but you're getting a "fresh tank." Not exactly!
Reading the fine print on the exchange offer shows that the Amerigas offer is "Net Weight 15 pounds." Propane weighs 4.23 pounds per gallon, which means you're not anywhere close to a full five gallons, and in fact, you're paying the equivalent of $6.20 a gallon — $3.45 more per gallon than having your own cylinder refilled.
And those "spare" cylinders they tout? Buy a spare for $54.99, filled up with a little more than three and a half gallons of fuel (which you could pay $9.75 for in bulk), and you'd still have $45 left over to buy a brand new (not refurbished) cylinder. At the time of the price check, Camping World would sell you a new cylinder for $35 which would be good for 12 years before it needed to be recertified. Those "refurbs" from Amerigas? Unless you look closely at the cylinder, you'd never know how soon you'd have to have the container recertified.
Which does bring up a point: If your existing cylinder is getting near its time for a re-cert, it might be advantageous to trade it in on a refurb. It is definitely more convenient than calling around propane service yards finding out who'll recertify your old cylinder, lugging it out, and waiting around for the job to be done. On the other hand, if you have the time and the re-cert price is right, lug it on in.
Sent from my amazing iPad
Kevin Cleek
Of course, no admission of wrongdoing.
Kevin
Not surprising to me, I had been told they did not fill them because of standing out in the heat in the summer, but I did not know it was this bad.
--
By Russ and Ti�a De Maris
On a visit to a Flying J truck stop we found bulk propane for $2.75 per pumped gallon. The same truck stop offered Amerigas exchange cylinders for $21.99. A quick nod at your calculator says you're paying $1.64 more per gallon for the exchange, but you're getting a "fresh tank." Not exactly!
Reading the fine print on the exchange offer shows that the Amerigas offer is "Net Weight 15 pounds." Propane weighs 4.23 pounds per gallon, which means you're not anywhere close to a full five gallons, and in fact, you're paying the equivalent of $6.20 a gallon � $3.45 more per gallon than having your own cylinder refilled.
And those "spare" cylinders they tout? Buy a spare for $54.99, filled up with a little more than three and a half gallons of fuel (which you could pay $9.75 for in bulk), and you'd still have $45 left over to buy a brand new (not refurbished) cylinder. At the time of the price check, Camping World would sell you a new cylinder for $35 which would be good for 12 years before it needed to be recertified. Those "refurbs" from Amerigas? Unless you look closely at the cylinder, you'd never know how soon you'd have to have the container recertified.
Which does bring up a point: If your existing cylinder is getting near its time for a re-cert, it might be advantageous to trade it in on a refurb. It is definitely more convenient than calling around propane service yards finding out who'll recertify your old cylinder, lugging it out, and waiting around for the job to be done. On the other hand, if you have the time and the re-cert price is right, lug it on in.
Sent from my amazing iPad
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Merrill
Merrill
-- Best, Merrill Check out my mom's new novel..."Child of Desire" by Verla Lacy Powers. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle eBook.
Drew
Many of the filling stations around here have gone to a flat rate. Two years back I took a half full tank to a local tool rental. The guy fills it and says $19. He said they no longer charge by volume since they also have a kiosk at their location. Big scam, but it is getting hard to find anything else.
Merrill
On 3/27/2013 6:26 PM, Kevin Cleek wrote:
Nothing new here. Blue Rhinop had a class action settlemrnt regarding short weights last year. $7.50 per refill from 2005 to 2011, up to $150 (if you had receipts) or a one-time payout of $7.50. Big whoop.
Of course, no admission of wrongdoing.
Kevin
On 3/27/2013 1:56 PM, JohnDouglas wrote:
Not surprising to me, I had been told they did not fill them because of standing out in the heat in the summer, but I did not know it was this bad.
--
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
You see them nearly everywhere: Propane cylinder trade-in kiosks. Bring in your empty and trade it in for a refreshed, full one. Often with 24-hour service it may be tempting to trade-in rather than fill up. But are they really a bargain?
On a visit to a Flying J truck stop we found bulk propane for $2.75 per pumped gallon. The same truck stop offered Amerigas exchange cylinders for $21.99. A quick nod at your calculator says you're paying $1.64 more per gallon for the exchange, but you're getting a "fresh tank." Not exactly!
Reading the fine print on the exchange offer shows that the Amerigas offer is "Net Weight 15 pounds." Propane weighs 4.23 pounds per gallon, which means you're not anywhere close to a full five gallons, and in fact, you're paying the equivalent of $6.20 a gallon — $3.45 more per gallon than having your own cylinder refilled.
-- Best, Merrill Check out my mom's new novel..."Child of Desire" by Verla Lacy Powers. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle eBook.
--
Big Jim
xtremely fast
----- Original Message -----From: DrewSubject: Re: [BBQ] Are propane tank "trade ins" worth it?I had 2 tanks refilled a week or so ago and it cost me $23... hard to beat that price. Now I need some NG burners and a setup to use them outside and hookup to the NG in the house. That would be a lot cheaper!Drew
===============================================================You don't need natural gass ''burners'', you just need the correct ''orfice'' for NG. They are available at both propane dealers as well as NG dealears. They use to be free but I got one recently that they charged me a few bux for. Very easy to change. If your gonna use both from time to time, mark either one so that U can remember which is which. Use paint, file mark, etc. No biggie if U dont and use the wrong one. It wont burn right. Change it out then.Xtremely Fast EddieLightin' um up here boss,in Deep East Texas......
Bryan Foltz
The only local place that refills tanks charges a flat rate for refills...
-bf
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Drew
Drew
